Vegetable Jalfrezi Recipe, Easy Veg Jalfrezi Recipe, Step by Step

Vegetable jalfrezi - Learn how to make vegetable jalfrezi,  a semi-dry Indian recipe with a mix of vegetables cooked in a tomato-based gravy. I love paneer jalfrezi and make it often mainly based on Sanjeev Kapoor's vegetable jalfrezi recipe but last weekend, I was out of paneer and opted for this vegetable version with my own adaptations. Can I just say it was delicious? A healthy mix of vegetables cooked with minimum spices to bring out the flavour of the individual vegetables, that's really my favourite style of cooking. Restaurants tend to make vegetable jalfrezi and paneer jalfrezi really greasy and oily and some even add cream to it which baffles me. A simple jalfrezi recipe made at home with as many vegetables as possible thrown in is should be kept healthy and simple, in my opinion.

The secret to getting a good deep colour for your jalfrezi is to use tomato paste instead of fresh pureed tomato. I use tomato paste from a can or from tubes which are much easier to use. Since these are really concentrated, a teaspoon or two at the most is usually sufficient. As for the vegetables, you can go for any you like. I used carrots, beans, baby corn, bell pepper, and onions this time around. You can even make vegetable jalfrezi with paneer if you have a few cubes of it lying around but not enough to make an entire dish with the paneer.

Jalfrezi is a good option to use as a filling for kathi rolls too. Take a tortilla wrap, add some filling inside, roll it up, and you are good to go! Kathi rolls make very easy evening snacks if you have the filling ready. However, I serve jalfrezi as a side dish so we feel we are actually eating some vegetables instead of just a dal and a paneer side dish. Since it's semi-dry, it's good to complement it with some dal or at least raita. While chapatis go really well with vegetable jalfrezi, I opted to make a simple peas pulao last weekend to keep things simple.

Here's a tip if you'd like to get your jalfrezi on the table in a jiffy - keep all ingredients prepared and ready. Probably the more time-consuming activity in preparing this recipe is the chopping of the vegetables. Try to keep them long and evenly thick for uniform cooking.

Similar recipes you may enjoy:
Paneer jalfrezi
Paneer mushroom masala 
Paneer korma

VEGETABLE JALFREZI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
4-5 cups of cut vegetables (carrot, baby corn, capsicum, beans, cauliflower, etc)
1/2 cup of onions, sliced
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1.5 to 2 tbsp of tomato paste
1/2 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
4 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
A pinch of sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare your vegetables first by washing, peeling, and chopping them.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle and turn a darker brown, add the sliced onions.

Saute until the onions turn soft and a light golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 30 seconds. Then add the coriander powder, chilli powder, and turmeric. Fry for 20 seconds taking care not to burn the spices. Turning the heat lower at this stage helps, especially if you are a beginner cook.

Now add the tomato paste and mix well.

Now add the chopped vegetables and give everything a good mix.

Top up with 1-1.5 cups of water and bring to boil. Lower flame and cook covered until the vegetables are cooked.

Take care not to overcook them to a mush, the vegetables should still hold their shape. By the time the vegetables are done, the water would have mostly been cooked up. If you find the gravy still very watery, cook a bit longer leaving the pan open.

When the vegetables are cooked and the dish has the desired consistency, add salt, sugar, kasuri methi, and garam masala. Mix well and turn off the heat.

Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Paneer jalfrezi should be served hot with chapatis or pulao. A simple peas pulao or jeera pulao would be a great combination. Refrigerate leftovers for up to two days. This can be rolled up in a roti or wrap or even sandwiched between bread. Enjoy, do send me a picture at if you try this recipe. Details are in my Facebook Page.

For vegetable jalfrezi recipe in Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, etc, please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

Mixed Vegetable Curry, Chettinad Vegetable Curry Recipe

Recipe for simple mixed vegetable curry - Amma makes different kinds of Mixed Vegetable Curries. Some of them use coconut or coconut milk and will be a South Indian Kurma style (recipe coming soon), some vegetables curries will be without coconut and just use very simple masala or spices that is usually served along with roti or chapati.

A couple of years back, she discovered Kalpasi. I searched online but didn't find more info on this spice called Kalpasi that's used extensively in Chettinad recipes and cooking.

Kalpasi - A popular Chettinad Spice used in most Chettinad Recipes

It has a bark-like appearance but is spongy and doesn't have much flavour on its own if you smell it. But add it to a mixed vegetable curry and you have a terrific restaurant-style (Chettinad-style too!) mixed vegetable curry that needs no other spices or masala. Amma buys this from Trichy or Nagercoil when she visits family so it's definitely available in Tamil Nadu.

More info on Kalpasi or Dagad Phool: A bunch of you awesome people recognised Kalpasi and left notes in the comments section. I am moving some snippets here so others can benefit. Arundati says "Its called Dagad Phool in urdu. Extensively used in hyderabadi food and its a kind of lichen. Called Stone flower in english.... has a lovely woody fragrance and smoky aroma". Prathibha says "dagad phool is used in many Maharashtrian and Konkani recipes too".

If Kalpasi is not available where you live, you can, of course, add garam masala as a substitute. If you like Chettinad Recipes, you may also like this Chettinad-style Mushroom Masala Recipe.

Also check out: mixed vegetable kurma recipe, paneer korma, soya chunks kurma.

Mixed Vegetable Curry - Vegetable Curry Recipe - Chettinad-Style

Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 people as a side dish for roti / chapati
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients for Mixed Vegetable Curry:
2 onions, sliced
4 cups of mixed vegetables (carrot, potato, beans, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, capsicum, etc)
2 green chillies, slit lenghtwise
1/4 cup of cow peas or black-eyed peas, soaked overnight (optional)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
A generous pinch of kalpasi (dagad phool)
1 strand of curry leaves
A small bunch of coriander leaves
2 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of sugar (optional)

How to make Mixed Vegetable Curry (Chettinad-Style):

1. Cut all the vegetables you are using into bite-sized pieces. You can use whatever you have in hand but capsicum (bell pepper), potato, and carrots are recommended.

2. Add the vegetables, soaked cow peas (if using), salt and green chillies to a pressure cooker pan along with 1/2 cup water and pressure cook for one whistle.

3. Meanwhile, heat oil and add the sliced onions (the oil quantity in the picture looks like a lot because amma was cooking for 12 people that day. I am giving the scaled measurement here). Fry the onions until golden brown and add the ginger garlic paste and kalpasi (or garam masala).

4. Fry this mixture for 2 mins and add the chopped tomatoes. Saute until the tomates are cooked and mushy. Then add the red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Fry for another minute.

5. Cool this mixture, transfer to a small mixer and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

6. I hope you kept an eye on the pressure cooker with our vegetables! One whistle is usually enough to cook the vegetables but they still maintain their shape. Transfer the vegetables into the same pan used before and add the ground paste. Add water if required. Bring to boil. Adjust salt, add sugar and the curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and remove from fire.

Serve hot with hot phulkas / rotis / chapati for a delicious and balanced dinner.

I love mixed vegetable curries of any sort simply because the flavours from any one vegetable doesn't dominate. Amma makes this Chettinad-style mixed vegetable curry very often since it's easy to make in large batches and tastes delicious with minimum spices and masala.

Tofu Egg and Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe, Step by Step

A quick and easy fried rice recipe with tofu, vegetables, and egg.

This is a very ad-hoc recipe that I concocted one night. I had some tofu in hand that needed to be used up and I was in no mood to cook a rice or roti, then a side-dish, etc.

This post actually has 3 recipes, in a way. You can stop at two other stages on the way to making the tofu vegetable fried rice or go all the way and make it a one-pot meal.

This fried rice goes really with Thai green curry or even just a good dose of tomato ketchup. Also check out recipes for egg fried rice, chicken fried rice, mushroom fried rice, and Indo Chinese vegetable fried rice.

3-Way Tofu, Egg, and Vegetable Fried Rice
Serves 2-3
Ingredients and measurements are approximate

Ingredients for basic tofu + veg base:
1 block firm tofu
1 cup mixed vegetables, chopped (I used carrot, French beans, corn, peas)
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp green chilli sauce (I use Ching's Secret for both soya sauce and chilli sauce)
1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Additional optional ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

1. Heat oil (make sure its not smoking hot, just barely glistening on top) and add the ginger and garlic. Saute for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the sliced onion and saute until cooked and soft.

2. Increase the flame/heat and add the soya sauce and chilli sauce. Saute for a minute. Lower flame and add cubed tofu. Fry until the tofu has browned on most sides.

3. Add the vegetables and some salt (be careful with salt since soya sauce is already salty) and mix well. Cook partially closed until the vegetables are cooked. Add pepper.

You can stop at this stage and serve this with noodles or rice.

Another step further would be to make space in the centre of your pan and crack in two eggs side by side. Don't disturb it until the whites are partially cooked. Then slowly scramble it into the tofu and vegetable mixture.

If you want a one-pot meal, mix in 2 cups of cooked rice. You may want to increase the amount of salt and pepper in this case. The rice will be mild and perfect for a wholesome weeknight dinner.

Of course you can garnish with coriander leaves or spring onions if you have any in hand. Serve tofu and egg fried rice hot.

Vegetable Kurma | Mixed Vegetable Korma Recipe

Vegetable Kurma or Vegetable Korma is my go-to recipe for a number of reasons. But, let me confess and say upfront that I made this very similar to the navratan kurma which The Husband really digs. Boys seem to like mixed vegetables disguised under some spicy gravy don't they? If I make TH a single-vegetable dish, he is okay with it. Add two vegetables, he is happy. Add three, he loves it! True story.

I love the Chettinad style of cooking with whole spices, coconuts and such. The flavours are bold and loud, the ingredients are in your face and every bite makes you feel vibrant and reminds you that you are eating this meal and loving it. While the general agreement is that Chettinad cooking is best done with meat, I tend to think that this vegetable kurma is a fairly good vegetarian version. While I won't claim this is a Chettinad style vegetable curry recipe, I do think it's largely inspired from that cuisine.

I love serving this kurma with spongy uttappam but chapatis or rotis are really the perfect and classic pairing. You can adjust the ingredients in all sorts of manners - from picking a different mix of vegetables to adding as little or as much spices and coconut as you'd like. You can even choose to heat up the spices in oil instead of grinding it with the coconut as I have done. I have tried both versions and they both create a fine kurma.

More side dish recipes for rotis:
Paneer korma
Soya chunks vegetable kurma
Navratan Kurma
Chettinad mixed vegetable curry
Mushroom korma

VEGETABLE KURMA RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
2 onions
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 cups mixed chopped vegetables (I used carrots, beans, potatoes, and tomatoes)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp yogurt (optional)
2 tsp coriander powder / malli podi
1/2 tsp cumin / jeera
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
A few curry leaves
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp ghee
Salt to taste
To Grind:
4 cloves
2" cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
5-6 cashew nuts
2 green chillies
1/4 cup grated coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add the ingredients under the list "to grind" into a small mixie jar or spice grinder.

Grind to a smooth paste with water. I added about 1/2 cup water while grinding but this depends on the size of your grinder and how smooth you want the paste to be. Set aside.

Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and fennel. Fry for a minute or until the mustard seeds start popping.

Add the sliced onions, curry leaves, and green chillies. Saute until the onions turn a light brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste along with the coriander powder and saut� again until fragrant - another minute or so.

Now add the chopped vegetables and coconut paste. Top up with about 1 cup water for the vegetables to get cooked properly.

Add some turmeric and simmer until the vegetables are cooked yet hold their shape.

You can cook down the vegetables to your preferred consistency.

Finally add salt and remove from fire. Serve vegetable kurma hot with chapatis, rotis, nan, parotta, or even pulao.

Note: this recipe was updated with new and step by step pictures on 21st March, 2015. 

Vegetable Dalia (Broken Wheat) Upma Recipe

This is one of those recipes I can't believe I haven't posted yet. Its true that I mostly make it for dinner and I do prefer dalia upma over vegetable rava upma anyday!

This is one of those healthy dishes that don't taste healthy, atleast to me. Its delicious piping hot with some steaming sambar and chutney. I didn't grow up eating this but I definitely make sure we have this for dinner atleast once every 2 weeks. Its perfect for weeknights if you use frozen cut vegetables to jazz it up. You can also check out my instant rava idli and quick rava dosa recipe for easy South Indian breakfast ideas. Looking for a more unique breakfast idea? Then check out this kanchipuram idli recipe. 

Vegetable Dalia (Broken Wheat) Upma Recipe

Source: Amma

Total cooking time: 25-30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1.5 cups broken wheat or dalia

3 cups water

1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup mixed vegetables (I use frozen peas, corn, carrots and French beans)

1 tsp powdered ginger or 1/2" grated fresh ginger

2-3 green chillies

Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the onions and green chillies and saute until the onions turn transparent (about 2-3 mins). 

2. Add the ginger powder or grated ginger, whichever you are using, and fry for another 20 seconds. Next, add the vegetables and 3 cups water. Bring to boil and cook closed until the vegetables are soft (about 5-6 mins). 

3. Add salt and the broken wheat in a slow trickle, stirring as you do this. Once you have added all the broken wheat, there should be enough water to cover it completely. If not, add more. Stir frequently and cook until all the water has been absorbed and the upma comes together, soft and fluffy. Pop some of the wheat in your mouth to see if its soft. If not, add more water and keep stirring until its fully done. Also adjust salt at this stage. 

Serve hot with sambar and/or chutney. 

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe - Indo Chinese Side Dish for Fried Rice

Understandably, you all loved the Chilli Paneer Recipe I posted last week. Of course, frying up something and mixing it in a delicious spicy sauce should be up everyone's alley, no surprises there.

After moving into the new apartment, we had friends over and I decided on an Indo-Chinese menu. I was badly craving some and grabbed the opportunity to cook some up myself. I made the Chilli Paneer, Vegetable Fried Rice and Schezwan Vegetables for some gravy to go with the fried rice.

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe
Adapted from Sailus Food
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large onion, cubed into 1" pieces roughly
1 carrot, cut into small, thin discs
8-10 french beans, cut into 1? pieces
8 baby corns, each cut into 6 round discs
1 green capsicum, cut into 1" pieces roughly

2 tbsps oil

2 tbsps finely chopped spring onion greens (for garnish, optional)

For The Sauce:
2 dry red chillis, halved
1/4 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp crushed garlic (about 6 small flakes)
1.5 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsps tomato puree (or 1 tsp tomato paste)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable stock or water (I used vegetable stock)

How to Make Vegetable Schezwan Recipe:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Cook until soft and transparent - about 3 mins.

2. Add the remaining vegetables with some salt and saute lightly for 3-4 mins.

3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and add to the cooking vegetables. Let it simmer for 5 mins or until the vegetables are cooked, yet firm. If the gravy is getting too thick, add more water. Adjust salt and add pepper and spring onion greens - and its ready to serve!

Vegetable Schezwan is one of those dishes where the preparation time is higher than the cooking time but the end result is very satisfying and can really help you get rid of your Indo-Chinese craving!